Germany, 1923

Hyperinflation, Hitler's Pusch and Democracy in Crisis

By: Volker Ullrich, Jefferson Chase - translator

Narrated by: Christopher Douyard

From a New York Times bestselling historian comes a gripping account of the crisis that threatened to unravel the Weimar Republic.

The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig confided in his autobiography: “I have a pretty thorough knowledge of history, but never, to my recollection, has it produced such madness in such gigantic proportions.” He was referring to Germany in 1923, a “year of lunacy,” defined by hyperinflation, violence, a political system on the verge of collapse, the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and separatist movements threatening to rip apart the German nation. Most observers found it miraculous that the Weimar Republic—the first German democracy—was able to survive, though some of the more astute realized that the feral undercurrents unleashed that year could lead to much worse. Now, a century later, bestselling author Volker Ullrich draws on letters, memoirs, newspaper articles, and other sources to present a riveting chronicle of one of the most difficult years any modern democracy has ever faced—one with haunting parallels to our own political moment.

©2022 Verlag C. H. Beck oHG, München; translation copyright 2023 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Interesting read about economics

I am intrigued listening to this book about economics - currency devaluation- war reparations - survival - inflation- political party formations- diaries of people living through times after war

How to make a dramatic subject boring

I had listened to Volker Ulrich's biography of Hitler which was long and detailed but the subject matter deserved it. This book covers a single year of the Weimar Republic, possibly its most perilous until 1933, when Hitler became chancellor. I am a long time student of German twentieth century history, but frankly I found the book tedious and boring. Too much detail. I felt like Ulrich had so many boxes of reference cards (I am a trained historian myself, so I know how these books get written) and he had to use every single one of them. There is really nothing new here for anyone familiar with the main lines of the story; you just get bombarded with a ocean of details, many of which are not really crucial to know. I think, for example, Peter Gay's book, Weimar Culture, is far more original and enlightening. Admittedly, it deals with a subject that comprises a single chapter of this book, but I do feel that only a specialist would find this book worth the time it takes to listen to it. Or perhaps a graduate student. I had trouble finishing it.